Found out we are nearly broke -

[Pollss]

I thought we were doing well but DH told me we are almost broke.

We are mid 40s & 2 kids in primary school.

Joint gross income is £68k.

We have £190k outstanding on the mortgage on a house worth £525k

We have about £15k in savings and DH has £10 company shares. The children have about £5k each in their ISAs.

i thought we were in a much better financial position. DH has always been a saver whilst I have been a spender. He handed me 6 months' credit card statements and there were just 100s of pointless transactions: coffee, pret, McDonald's, cinema trips costing £50 a piece.

DH doesn't talk to me about our finances because it usually ends in bickering. I was hoping to move to a larger house as our current one is too small but £525k gets you nothing in London.

what can i do to improve our finance situation

Christ on a bike.

if you read this and spent the time then you’re the one who wasted your time, not the OP.

I read threads like this and I just wish that people would take some ownership of their own mental state. If you read something that some stranger wrote and it makes you feel offended then that’s just a fleeting reaction. You’ve not actually been harmed; there’s no reparation called for, and the author isn’t obliged to apologise. It’s your problem to solve.

Also, if somebody is better off than you, they still have the right to be upset when something goes wrong for them. It still sucks when you get bad news and have to adjust your hopes downwards. Otherwise, there’re plenty of people worse off than you that will invalidate your right to be upset, and the only person who deserves any support at all is literally starving, and on fire.

OP, I’m really sorry that your state isn’t what you thought it was. A practical tip to get saving is to set up a stocks and shares ISA that’s invested in an index-tracked set of funds, and have an automated payment go to that the day after payday every month. You feel like you never had that money, and you don’t miss it. Leave that running, year after year, and give it half of every pay rise.

Also, the most expensive things in our lives are the relatively cheap things that we do very often - those coffees and snacks out add up very quickly. I always think in terms of my internet connection - if something costs more than that every month then I need to consider if it’s worth it, especially if I feel my internet connection is more valuable :)

I actually think you're talking shit anyway. We earn 30% more than you, in a house a similar value and have £300k left on the mortgage. We're both savers.

I don't believe you only have £150k left to pay.

I think you're baiting.

That’s something, my income isn’t that.
i plan, I budget, and save , long term progressive disability sorted that out!
Save the change is great, and I make roughly £300 a year on that, savings also in a relatively high interest account, helps too, money for nothing, ok t & c applied.
Theres only cat, and I, and I own my own house.

I really would appreciate one day someone from London explaining to us how you folks manage on NMW jobs.
Even without housing London seems terribly expensive even for things such as a bottle of water from the newsagents.
Are supermarket costs the same nationwide? So if asda sells a block of cheese for a fiver in Newcastle is it the same price in London?

I find London very overwhelming to even visit with its bustle but I admit I do love it very much when I go. I can understand fully why people would pay extreme amounts to live there.

Get some perspective. You are not broke, if you want to improve your financial position (which isn’t broke at all - read the room!) then stop wasting £50 a time on unnecessary shit. McDonald’s, cinema trips etc are unnecessary spending if your worried about money.

The main issue is housing, council tax & public transport. If you strip away those costs, I don't think there is much different between the cost of living in London v rest of UK

This has really upset me. If you are broke, what am I?? And what about the people worse off than me?? Truly insensitive

@Lwrenn

Some day to day things are actually cheaper in London I find, certainly no more. Council tax is cheaper! Housing costs are the thing that costs more

Our situation is not disimilar, but I wouldn't consider ourselves broke, you are in the top 25% for household income in the UK, maybe in London it's lower but I'd guess still comfortably top 50%. You've been savaged a bit, but you must either spend less or earn more, and tax will probably go up, so you'll lose a bit anyway.

Thank you, I need to investigate this, I get nothing from mine! I just use occasionally it to keep my credit rating up (I pay it off religiously)

For your income at think you have done very well so a little confused!

Arghgerroffyabastard

What's gone wrong for her, though? I mean, apart from having to perhaps spend less money on coffee and Pret?

I wouldn't think twice about spending money on the cinema or meals out, if I were in your, very, very privileged position! Life is to be enjoyed after all, and sounds like you can afford it!

Pretty much all chain restaurants have separate costs for London compared to elsewhere in the country, as do cinemas. Theatre more expensive in London. Water I think too, but I'm in an area of very cheap water so maybe not.

I have £10 in my savings account 🤣

I thought we were doing well but DH told me we are almost broke.

Surely the issue is your husband's comment?

You're simply quoting him here.

Is the real issue that he thinks you're wasting money?
And showing you the CC statements is to try to shock you into taking action?

Does he have a point or is that an unfair accusation?

You're not nearly broke but the reason you don't have more money is listed in your own post 🤦

Only £1.01 in my savings account BUT I also have £10 of Premium Bonds bought by my late grandparents that I never cash in. 😍💰🥴

Between us we could maybe get a big Mac n a mcflurry 🤣

This is a thread that has been wrongly titled. OP hasn’t found out that she’s broke - she’s found out that she can’t afford to do what she wants to do.
There obviously hasn’t been much discussion between her and her OH about finances but bearing in mind their joint income, which is more than some families but not huge by todays standards, I would have thought common sense might well have told her that there wouldn’t be a lot left for coffees, cinema trips and adding to savings after all the unavoidable expenses like rates, food etc had been paid
In my view they (DH) have done well to accrue the savings they have living in London, but if the savings pot is just down to him I can well understand why he’s presented her with 6 months of credit card bills which shows the items he thinks money has been wasted on

You are not what? As rich as you thought you were? Oh boo hoo. Catch yourself on.

stop spending on things you don't need

...........like spending money on an app when all budgeting is just simple arithmetic

Nothing insensitive about what you said, it hardly affects anyone else but, frankly, you are far from broke. You may not be able to stretch to a bigger house at the moment but you are well placed for all that and may be able to move in the not too distant future. Your children are still young and I doubt it bothers them. Enjoy what you have! You can't take it with you.

I doubt you're coming back after updating and still getting ripped to shreds but.. It took me far too many years to realise money doesn't just sort itself out! you need to know what's coming in and out then budget it accordingly. When we get paid i put all the savings we need into the relevant pots, birthdays, days out, xmas, car, house, food budget for the month, takeaways, holidays etc. Then what's left is for discretionary spending. It doesn't sound like you really pay much attention to what's going out but doing that is what is going to save you an absolute fortune, a fiver or so here and there feels like nothing but it adds up so quickly.

I think you're doing reasonably well for a couple with two children and a household income of £68K/year, assuming you've both being paying into decent pensions too? LONDON is your biggest barrier if you want a bigger house.

I would say your salaries don't really justify staying in/around London, especially if you want a bigger house and more savings. London is an easy day trip for us on the train (and DH has for decades worked there 1-2 days/week) but our house is a decent size (5 bed detached) and worth around what yours is.